Almond Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing and Friends

I was overjoyed to catch up on the phone with a very dear friend the other day. She is one of those friends that months can go by without speaking but we are able to pick up the thread of our friendship in a heartbeat. Do you know what I mean? She asked me when I was going to start posting recipes again and I promised I would .... so this one's for you Maureen, my dear friend.

Almond Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing: (serves 4)

Dressing:

1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium bowl combine the buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar and honey. Slowly whisk in the oil to blend. Whisk in the chives, season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

The Chicken:

2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups almonds (raw, unsalted)
1/2 cup flour
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pound)
salt and pepper
vegetable or canola oil for shallow frying

Set up your breading station. In a shallow bowl (such as a pie plate) beat the eggs.
In your food processor, grind the almonds, add the flour and pulse a few times.
Place the nut/flour mixture in another shallow bowl.

Slice the chicken breasts into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide and pound slightly. Season with salt and pepper, dredge in egg, then the nut/flour mixture. Place on wire rack set over rimmed cookie sheet and allow to "dry". Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Throw away any nut/flour mixture and egg that may be left.

Heat oil in frying pan (about 1/2 an inch of oil) Working in batches, fry the chicken strips until golden (about 4 minutes per side). Remove to brown paper bags to drain, then place on a rack set over a cookie sheet* and place in a warm oven (about 275). Repeat until all chicken is fried.

Salad:

6 cups tender mixed lettuces (your choice, I used Romaine, Butter and Red Sails)
2 medium nectarines, pitted and sliced about 1/4 inch thick.

Arrange the salad on plates, top with chicken strips and drizzle with dressing.

*placing the cooked chicken on a rack will ensure that the chicken stays crisp, not soggy while keeping warm in the oven.

The chicken is also delicious served cold.

Make this for a friend, to thank them for.. well, being your friend!

As always, Bon Appetite.

I'm Going To Be Okay Because and Pappardelle's Pasta

It has been 10 months since TBHITW (The Best Husband In The World) passed from this life into another.

Ten months of the most intense feelings I believe any human being can experience. Loss, loneliness, quite introspection, rivers of tears and oceans of fears.

As I reflect back on the last ten months I realize that I have learned more about myself in this time than I have in my entire life.

I have learned that everyone has their own journey.
I have learned that everyone carries with them their own sadness. And sometimes regret. (I have a few, but then again too few to mention) Someone should put that line to music.. (wait a minute... sorry, I was just channeling TBHITW's humor)
I have learned to speak more softly. And with more kindness.
I have learned to listen more closely.
I have learned that I am stronger than I thought.
I have learned that love never dies.
I have learned that I am going to be okay. I am going to live.

I am going to be okay because today:
I laughed. At myself.
I smiled.
I did not get impatient in the grocery store line.
I talked with a good friend about very real stuff.
I forgave a good friend about really big stuff.
I began planning a party and was (and am) excited about it.
I looked at pictures of TBHITW and did not cry - I smiled at the memory and gave thanks for them.
I worked in the garden and was happy.
I looked up at the sky and gave thanks for the sun, the clouds and then the gentle rain.
I began making plans for MY future.
I am cooking again and planting again and eating again.

Recently I ate some of the best pasta I have ever eaten in my life and for the first time in a long time I ate  with gusto. I then promptly went online and ordered more.

Pappardelle's Pasta. OMG.

I discovered Pappardelle's Pasta by accident. A few weeks ago (or a few days.. time seems to blend) I attended the NJ Food and Wine Festival with my good friend Judi. It was a beautiful day, perfect for tasting local wines and food. Pappardelle's had a booth set up with their pasta wares and on a whim I bought a pound of their Lemon Chive Angel Hair Pasta.

A few days later I found myself rummaging about in my pantry trying to decide what to make for my dinner. A boiling, salted pot of water later, a few drizzles of olive oil and some shavings of fresh parmesan and I was in heaven.

If you are a pasta lover, want to become a pasta lover, think pasta is over rated or are bored with your grocery store's offerings, run, walk, google, click, do whatever you have to do to experience this eating nirvana. Pappardelle's offers a wide assortment of flavored orzo, dried pasta, fresh pasta and sauces in addition to a gluten free line. I promise on my name "The Good Cook" you will not be disappointed. Like I said (with my mouth full) OMG.

And this is how I know I will be okay. Not only will I be okay, I will survive. I have friends, I have family, I have a love in my heart that death cannot steal. And I have my passion for truly exceptional food back.

Bon Appetite.

A Cook's Notes: Pappardelle's did not pay me or offer me any compensation for writing this post. IN FACT - they don't even know I wrote it. Their pasta is just that good.  Look for more recipes in the future as I develop, taste and whisper thank you to the pasta gods more recipes featuring Pappardelle's Pastas.

Traditions and Bouche de Noel

My friend Anne is English and Irish. Her Irish American father met her English mother in England during World War II. After the war Anne's mother came to the states and married her soldier. She brought her English holiday traditions with her.

Anne's sister Kathy is married to a gentleman from Paris, France. He brought his French holiday traditions with him.

Anne met her husband Dan in Liberia where they were both serving in the Peace Corps. Dan was born and raised in Wisconsin. They brought back many holiday traditions from lands near and far with them.

Today we are celebrating Boxing Day. Most of the world outside the United States celebrates a form of Boxing Day, especially in Canada, Ireland and England.

I am a cook. Boxing Day and my friends give me something to be passionate about, namely, cooking. Cooking is my tradition, I bring it to you.

I made a traditional French Christmas dessert for today's festivities; Bouche de Noel. There is still time for you to make it for your New Year's celebration. What traditions do you bring to your holidays?


Bouche de Noel: serves 12

To make it a bit less complicated, use boxed cake mix and premade frosting (gasp!)

1 box yellow cake mix.
2 cans chocolate frosting (do not use the "whipped" kind)
2 cups heavy cream
12 ounces good quality semi sweet morsels
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
pinch cream of tartar

A few days before you are ready to make the cake, beat 2 egg whites with 1/2 cup sugar and a pinch of cream of tartar until stiff and glossy. Place meringue in a pastry bag and pipe out 12 rounds and 12 columns of white. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Cool and place in a sealed container. You are going to make mushrooms out of this.

The night before you bake your cake scald 2 cups heavy cream in a small pan. Place the chocolate in a small bowl and pour the hot cream over. Let it sit for a few minutes then whisk to combine. Cover and cool in the refrigerator overnight. This is your chocolate ganache that will be spread on the inside of the cake.

The day you want to serve your cake. Follow directions on cake mix box to bake cake. Use a jelly roll pan and grease and flour well. It will only take about 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven to cook.

Get a kitchen towel ready and dust with flour. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven invert it on your towel and roll it up jelly roll style. Let cook completely in the towel - about 2 hours.

Okay. Ready.

Take your ganache out of the refrigerator and beat for a few minutes. Not too long, you want to be able to spread it.

Unroll your cake. Spread the ganache over the entire surface of the cake, then roll up and place on a platter.

Attache the meringue columns to the bottom of the meringue circles using a bit of the canned frosting as glue. Set aside.

Frost the rolled cake heavily, using the tip of your knife to draw "bark" lines and circles.

Use holly leaves or rosemary sprigs to decorate the platter. You can dip the greens in a beaten egg while, then roll in sugar for a snowy effect. Dust your mushrooms with a bit of cocoa powder and place the meringue mushrooms around using frosting to cement to platter, use currants or cranberries as additional garnish.

In the tradition of Good Cooks everywhere, stand back and admire your work.

Making the mushrooms

Whipping the ganache for the filling

Dipping Rosemary Sprigs in egg white and sugar to create a snowy garnish

Bouche de Noel

A Holiday Blessing and Mushroom Pie with Sour Cream Crust

We will light four candles this evening before we sit down to Christmas Eve dinner.

My family has been blessed with wonderful, caring people in our lives. This evening we will eat with Anne and Dan and their children. Anne and Dan were TBHITW and my best "couple" friends.

There will be one extra place setting and one empty chair at the table.

When we sit down at their table my children and I will each light one of four candles, these are the words that will be said to honor TBHITW:



"As we light these four candles in honor of you, we light one for our grief, one for our courage, one for our memories and one for our love.

First Candle: This candle represents our grief, the pain of losing you is intense. It reminds us of the depth of our love for you.

Second Candle: This candle represents our courage to confront our sorrow, to comfort each other, to change our lives.

Third Candle: This light is in your memory; the times we laughed, the times we cried, the times we were angry with each other, the silly things you did and the caring and joy you gave us.

Fourth Candle: This light is the light of love; as we enter this holiday season day by day we cherish the special place in our hearts that will always be reserved for you. We thank you for the gift your living brought to each of us. We love you."

Anne is making a standing prime rib, I am making all the sides and because Anne's daughter is a vegetarian I am making her this mushroom pie. I've made it before for her. I think it will make her happy.  Who are you making happy this season?

Mushroom Pie with Sour Cream Crust: - Serves 6 to 8 as a main course

Crust: This is one of the easiest, most delicious pastry doughs I have ever worked with. Trust me, you're going to love it.

2 1/2 cups flour (you can use whole wheat or all purpose, unbleached white flour)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 cup sour cream (you can substitute Greek Style yogurt for less calories)

Whisk first three ingredients in bowl. Cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal. Add sour cream and stir until dough comes together. Shape dough into 2 disks, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out larger disk and fit into pie plate. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight. Wrap other (smaller) disc of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Filling:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped shallots

6 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms (portabella, shitake, white button or any combination you like)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

8 ounces cream cheese (you can use Neufchatel style if you like) - room temperature and cut into cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saute pan. Add onions and shallots and gently saute until translucent. About 5-8 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes and most of liquid from mushrooms had cooked off.

Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool.

Roll out smaller disc of dough and cut into strips. Form a lattice crust. Brush with egg white.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

A Cook's Notes: You can make this pie up to one day before. To reheat, cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly.

Women

(male readers, please bear with me, I love you too)

Women. What is it about women?

How do they know what to do?

For weeks now I have been surrounded by the most amazing women. Both here, physically and "out there" in the wireless world.

Monday night my friend Anne hosted a birthday dinner for herself. She invited me, Wanda and Myrna, calling us her "best buds". She took us all to a beautiful upscale restaurant where we wined and dined and chatted and laughed (and yes, cried a little too).

Last night Anne, Wanda and Myrna came to my home and allowed me to cook for them. A gift.

They sat at my table and laughed and chatted and told stories about their own lives and loves and trials and tribulations and joys and sorrows. And yes, we all cried a little too. But mostly we ate.

These women have their own families. Their own husbands and children. Yet they leave them alone, to fend for themselves and feed themselves and occupy themselves to be with me. To grieve and laugh and hug and light a candle in my night.

What is it about women? How do they know? Are women born with the innate ability to nurture? Are women programmed from birth to know how to comfort?

It's not just these women. My sisters, other friends, and women throughout the world call me everyday, send me emails of encouragement and leave loving comments on this blog - all holding me up. Helping me through the day, cheering me on, sobbing with me, listening to me, supporting me with their words, their thoughts, their intentions and their prayers.

What is it about women? Thank God for women.

Angels Walk Among Us

Friday nights were always date night in this house.

When the kids were young that meant family dinners out. Nothing fancy. Chili's. TGIFriday's. Cheeseburger In Paradise. Pizza.

As the littles grew Friday nights changed. They were going to football games. Or had to work. Or met friends for a movie.

Friday nights became TBHITW and my date night. Better restaurants. Fancier fare.

And always, around 9:00 pm TBHITW would ask me, "What's our toddy?". We always shared a cocktail and relaxed into the weekend on Friday night. Not big drinkers, it was our one evening a week to unwind with a libation. I would go through the list: wine, or a cosmopolitan or an appletini.

Friday nights are hard, lonely nights now.
I eat alone.
Or sometimes don't eat at all.
I read. I cry. I go to bed.

Last night around 8:30 pm someone knocked on my door. When I answered it, I found my friend Anne standing on my front porch and she asked, "What's our toddy?"

She made me laugh.

I made cosmopolitans. We sat on the patio in my backyard and burned a healing candle that her oh so wise daughter gave to me.

My neighbor has lights strung all across his backyard and their glow, along with the candle were just enough to soften the darkness of the night.

Sometime around 11:00 pm my neighbor came out and leaning over the fence, handed us canoli from Carlo's Bakery (you know Carlo's, he's the Cake Boss).

The sixteen year old came out and joined us for canoli.

And we sipped cosmopolitans and ate our canoli under the glow of a thousand stars and a healing candle.

Angels walk among us and we call them our friends and neighbors.

Cosmopolitans: makes 2

1 cup vodka of choice (I LOVE Tito's. A small distillery out of Texas. If you can find it, try it!)

1/2 cup Cointreau

Juice of 1/2 lime or splash Rose's lime juice

1/4 cup cranberry juice

Crushed ice

Fill a shaker with crushed ice. Add the vodka, Cointreau, lime and cranberry juice. Shake vigorously for 30 shakes. It HAS to be 30 shakes. Really hard. The perfect martini has tiny slivers of ice crystals floating on top. That keeps it cold from the first sip to the last.

Sip with a friend on a starry night. 

Across the Miles

I have been truly touched and amazed at how many people have taken the time to reach out to me and offer me kind words of love and support.

Of course my family and close personal friends have been here with me. Holding me up. Cooking for me. Crying with me. Laughing with me. Sitting in silence with me. Sending me messages everyday or calling to check in. In the future if they ever have to go through a {{{shudder}} tragedy I only hope I can be as good and kind and wise as they have been.

Just as amazing is YOU. You people from all over the world who have reached out to me and from the heart offered me words of encouragement and love and support. Some of you have spoken from personal experience and pain to let me know that one day, one day, it will be easier. Some of you have cried across the internet with me. Some of you have reached out via personal emails. Some of you have called me on the phone.

Thank You doesn't seem like enough to say to all of you. But Thank You is all I have right now. You have held me up. You have encouraged me. You are wonderful, compassionate, giving people. You help me through each day.

Many of you have commented on TBHITW's picture on the beach. I will always cherish and ponder that picture.

And this one, where Holly Bear is turning back and he is walking on. No footprints in the sand. Just a glance back at me.

A boy I last saw in high school wrote a poem about this picture. Across the years - this now grown man (who I remember as being kind, quiet and intelligent in HS) sent me these words, the picture somehow speaking to him.

Like I said, amazing.

light                                                       by R.J. Heller

“Everything continues, light is the essence of today, the reminders of the past, and the beacon for tomorrow….”

Ever changing, yet constant, memories

In us, revealed in a smile,

In us, it is our eyes

Our Soul

It is ever reaching, and does

Not end…it continues

In time, and in all the empty spaces

Our Times

It touches, us with memory

Of joyous rapture, and

Tones of sadness

Our Reflections

Year upon year, it travels

Singing of a life lived

A life shared,

Our Lives

A smile is love,

Light shines, becomes many

Things, a touch, taste, a smell

Our Moments

It touches us, gentle reminders,

To live, and to remember

A smile is love, in light constant

Our Loves

Each memory, as it rises

Is light, linked to many more

Colors reveal the light, the smiles

Forever….

Windswept Farm, Teenage Boys and Mixed Green Salad with Roasted Beet Vinaigrette and Warm Goat Cheese Crouton

This weekend I took my 15 year old kidadult and three of his friends to my best friend Michele's farm in Upstate New York. Some of you may recognize the name Windswept Farm from previous posts.

What is it about teenage boys and tractors?

The weather was beautiful, cool and crisp under azure skies. Perfect for working on a farm.

The boys cut greens for my girlfriend's holiday wreath making; an entire hay wagon full!

And I learned something about making evergreen wreaths.

I remained hopeless in the bow tying division. Thankfully for the wreaths and her customers Michele is an expert and had quickly tied up 65! (I helped by handing her wire and scissors)

While Michele and I made wreaths and bows for her local holiday bazaar we talked about the farm, the grape and vegetable harvest, our children and our friendship that has spanned 30 years. I still have a warm feeling today thinking about the last 48 hours spent in the embrace of a lifelong friendship and shared memories.

The boys cleared and leveled a field, rode a 4 wheeler, helped with feeding the horses and generally had the best time four 15 year-olds can have without a video game in sight! Michele's husband proclaimed them excellent farmers and invited them back anytime. He knows free labor when he sees it! Of course it didn't hurt the boys performance that Michele's lovely 15 year old daughter was on hand to be suitably impressed.

What did you do this weekend?

All the wonderful root vegetables are in markets now; parsnips, turnips and beets of every color. These fall harvest vegetables store beautifully over a long period of time so stock up now while they are plentiful and inexpensive. Just keep them in a cool, dark and dry place and you can enjoy their goodness throughout winter.

Mixed Green Salad with Roasted Beet Vinaigrette and Warm Goat Cheese Crouton.

(serves 6)

Four small to medium sized red beets, scrubbed and greens chopped off

Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each beet in foil. Place wrapped beets in shallow roasting pan and fill with water to cover beets halfway. Roast in oven for 1 1/2 hours or until soft when pierced with tip of knife. Remove from water and allow to cool.

When cool enough to handle, unwrap beets and slip the skins off. You may want to wear gloves and cover your work surface with paper to avoid beet stained hands and counters.

Beet Vinaigrette:

2 roasted beets

1 cup olive oil

1/3 cup sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper

Place 2 beets in food processor. Minimally process using on / off pulses. You don't want to puree the beets, just mince. Remove beets from processor and place in medium sized bowl. Replace bowl of processor on machine. With machine running, pour in sherry vinegar and slowing drizzle in olive oil until emulsified. Add honey, pulse. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk into the finely minced beets.

Warm Goat Cheese Croutons:

4 ounce log goat cheese

1 egg white

1/4 cup panko or fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Slice goat cheese log into 6 rounds. Dip into beaten egg white, then bread crumbs. Freeze for 15 minutes. Heat oil on medium high in small nonstick frying pan. Quickly add goat cheese rounds and brown each side about 30 to 60 seconds. Turn and brown other side. Remove to plate.

Salad Assembly:

6 cups mixed greens

2 roasted beets, sliced in rounds, then halved to form half moons.

Pine Nuts, toasted (optional)

Arrange 1 cup of greens on 6 salad plates. Arrange a few half moons of beets on top of each salad. Place one warm goat cheese crouton on top of beets. Drizzle all over with (room temperature) roasted beet vinaigrette, top with pine nuts.

A Cook's Notes: This is a lovely luncheon salad when served with a warm, crusty bread. For dinner, serve with roasted chicken, bread and a crisp Riesling. That's what I'm having for dinner tonight!

Two Days To WWW - and Tenderloin

These are the women of WWW. Women's Wine Weekend (notice there is no H in Wine).

That's me, the first on the right

It's two days until we convene and commence to, well, whatever we want.

Today I am going to buy the beef tenderloin and this is how I'm going to make it for WWW Saturday Dinner:

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary, Chocolate and Wine Sauce

1 (2 to 5 pound) beef tenderloin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons olive oil
½ cup chopped shallots
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups dry red wine plus more for drinking (duh)
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Tenderloin:

Take meat out of refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Season meat with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and sear until well browned on all sides.

Transfer the meat to a rack set on a baking sheet. Roast until desired doneness (140 – medium rare, 150 – medium). Take meat out of oven 6 degrees below desired temperature. Tent. Residual cooking will bring to desired temperature. Let rest AT LEAST 15 minutes before carving.

Sauce:

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrot and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 2 more minutes. Add the wine and broth and stir in tomato paste, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until reduced by half (about 30 minutes) Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Discard solids. Return sauce to pan, whisk in cocoa. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Serve on the side with the sliced tenderloin.

Tomorrow: All the sides.

James and The Giant Cupcake

This is James. He is fifteen years old and one of Zach's, my 15 year old son's, best friends.

These are James' giant cupcakes.

Recently, my son's friends have been eating dinner with us on a Saturday night.

Typically, it starts like this; around 3:00 on a Saturday afternoon, the phone rings.

Me: Hello? Zach?

Zach: Hi mom.

Me: Where are you?

Zach: In my room.

Me: In my house?

Zach: Yeah. In my room.

Me: Have you fallen and can't get up?

Zach: No, it's me Zach - I'm in my room with Sal.

Sal is another one of my son's friends he "hangs" with. There is Tom and Sal, and Mark, and Ryan, and James. They are very nice boys from the neighborhood and all 15 years old.

Me: You are in your room with Sal? Has Sal fallen and can't get up? Did a dresser fall on you? Are you engaging in CPR on Sal that prohibits you from coming out of your room, walking the 10 feet to the kitchen and conversing in person with me?

Zach: no, we're playing video games, can Sal eat over?

Me: Sure

That's how it typically starts. Five or ten minutes later, another phone call:

Me: Hello Zach?

Zach: Yeah, mom... can Tom eat over too?

Me: Did Tom fall down and can't get up?

Zach: Oh mom...

Me: okay.

This will go on for sometime. This past Saturday, Zach did eventually emerge from his room to ask if James could also eat over. James was coming from a fresh haircut appointment and wanted all his friends to see his new "do" (my words, not theirs)

When James came in the door - I was shocked.

James, for as long as I have known him, has had very long hair that he wore tied back in a pony tail; which in itself is funny. Let me explain. I grew up in the 70's - where long haired "hippies" were the norm. These kids have absolutely no clue that they are imitating a style from the 70's. It would be like me wearing saddle shoes and poodle skirts. But they don't get it. They believe they are the fashionistas and and on the cutting edge. hee-hee. If they would only take a glance at my high-school yearbook how mortified would they be???

Anyway, James came in - another dinner invitation was extended and like so many Saturday night dinners I found myself cooking for 4 to 5 teenagers, my husband and myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I have always tried to have an "open door" policy when it comes to our home. Better to have the kidadults congregate here than elsewhere and besides, it is amazing what you can learn over a table of shared food.

What I learned that night:

James had been growing his hair for a couple of years in order to donate it to Locks for Love; an organization that makes wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy. There is no charge for these wigs. It was finally long enough and in one fell swoop he had it all cut off to benefit children with cancer.

Sometimes kids can amaze us.

So that's why I made James a Giant Cupcake. Because James, in my eyes, has a giant heart.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze and Cream Cheese Swirl.

Makes 6 jumbo (muffin size) or 12 normal size cupcakes.

Paper cupcake liners (jumbo or regular sized)

1/2 cup whole grain pasty flour (I like Hodson Mills whole wheat pastry flour)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon slat

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup reduced fat yogurt (I like Face 0% fat Greek yogurt)

1/4 cup skim or 1% milk

1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg white

Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon nonfat milk (plus more if needed)

2 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Squiggle:

2 tablespoons cream cheese (I like neufchatel; light cream cheese)

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar

Place rack in in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pan with liners. Whisk together flours, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl and set aside.

Combine milk and lemon juice or vinegar in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, add yogurt and stir to combine. Add vanilla. Set aside.

Combine butter, oil and brown sugar in the bowl of mixer and mix on high speed until sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Add egg and egg white and beat another minute.

Add 1/3 of cocoa/flour mixture, then 1/3 of milk/yogurt mixture, mixing well after each addition. Repeat until all ingredients are combined.

Distribute among cupcake liners.

Bake for 22 minutes for jumbo muffin size or 15 minutes for regular cupcake size or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on rack.

Glaze:

Combine confectioner's sugar and milk in small saucepan and heat over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Add chocolate and and stir until melted and smooth. Add milk by 1/2 teaspoons if too thick. While still warm, frost cupcakes.

Squiggle:

2 tablespoons cream cheese. Microwave for 10-15 seconds.

2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar. Stir into cream cheese.

Place in small plastic bag, snip off corner and squiggle on cupcakes.

Don't tell the 15 year old's these are low fat, low calorie, high fiber. They are loaded with love and that's the only thing anyone needs to know; just like Locks for Love and fifteen year olds.